Reader’s Digest: How an 18-Year-Old Died of Cardiac Arrest—Without Showing Symptoms

Félicité Tomlinson was many things: Aspiring fashion designer, Instagram star, sister of One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson. But on March 13, 2019, the 18 year old’s story was cut short, almost before it began, when she was found dead in her London apartment, having suffered a “heart attack/cardiac arrest,” her reps told Hollywood Life.

She was reported to have been in excellent health and had even announced in January that she’d given up alcohol and tobacco. So how does such a young person die so suddenly of cardiac arrest? Sadly, this is a question with no satisfactory answer, says Robert Segal, MD, cardiologist and cofounder of Labfinder.com.

“Men over the age of 40, women over the age of 50, smokers, people with a genetic predisposition or family history of heart disease, people suffering from obesity and a lack of physical activity, and people with high cholesterol and high blood pressure are at highest risk,” he explains. “But the truth is that everyone is at risk for heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks.”

Read the full article on Reader’s Digest.